Form for monolithic concrete wall construction



I United States Patent [1113,549,115

[72] inventor Frank L. Williams [56] References Cited Newtown Square,Pa. UNITED STATES PATENTS [21] Appl. No. 650,508 1,776,999 9/1930 Jensen249/140X [22] Filed June 30, 1967 2,618,039 11/1952 l-lyre..... 249/191X1 Patented 22, 1970 2,272,659 2/1942 Daley 249/193 [73] Assignee Am ricn m n C rp r i n 2,575,678 11/1951 Olson 25/131X Los Angeles PrimaryExaminer-J Spencer Overholser a corporation of Delaware AssistantExaminer-Michael 0. Sutton Attorney-Cushman, Darby & Cushman ABSTRACT: Alightweight form is provided for producing an improved surfaceconfiguration for a cast monolithic concrete wall construction. The wallis produced to include a plurality [54] gg gg gg CONCRETE WALL ofintegrally formed, spaced, pad members which project outf i 9D in wardlyfrom a surface of the wall to provide places of at- 2 8 raw g tachmentfor sheet material which is fastened onto the pads in [52] US. 249/33, aspaced relationship from the monolithic wall. An aluminum, 52/235,52/598, 52/604, 249/97, 249/192 or other lightweight material, form isprovided with specially 51 Int. Cl. E04 11/06 constructed de ressions todefine positions of the integral l g P [50] Field of Search 249/ 192,pads when the monolithic wall is cast, and the form also in- 191, 190,189, 193, 35, 47,45, 140, 55; 25/131M, cludes a specially curved surfaceto provide greater strength 1 18M, 1C, 44 and a better release of theform from a cast wall.

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3: wa I? a I H t ,1 FORM FOR MONOLITHIC CONCRETE WALL .cous'rrrucrrouBACKGROUND AND BRIEF SUMMARY OF INVENTION It is known in the prior artto provide various types of forming devices which can be used toconstruct concrete wall structures. Early devices were assembled out ofwood and were essentially destroyed after each use, but laterdevelopment of the art saw the use of metal forms which could be erectedto define a vertical space into which cement could be 'poured and curedto construct a monolithic wall structure. At-

tempts to use steel forms were largely unsuccessful because of theunwieldy weight of the forms and because of inherent problems of rustand corrosion with steel. Attempts were even made to combine metalframes with wooden panels or webs, as exemplified in U, S. Pat. No.2,640,249 to Symons, but such forms did not have sufficient strength tosupport heavy stresses and loads, and were necessarily manufactured inrelatively small units.

It is also known to manufacture forms out of lightweight metals, such asaluminum or magnesium metals or alloys, as recognized in the U. S. Pat.No. 3,307,822 to Stout. Lightweight metal forms or panels havethe'advantages of strength and light weight, thereby permitting theirmanufacture in larger sized units which can be quickly and economicallyassembled to define a mold forthe casting of a wall or buildingstructure. However, certain lightweight metal construction forms have aserious disadvantage of tending to stick to freshly poured concrete, andthis results in a real difficulty in removing such forms from a hardenedconcrete construction. The problem of sticking is overcome in the StoutU. S. Pat. No. 3,307,822 by use of a special mold surface configuration,and my own pending patent application Ser. No. 426,885, filed Jan. 21,1965, discusses a provision for a nonsticking film on aluminum moldsurfaces.

Another development which is taking place in this art is the increaseduse of monolithic techniques and constructions in the erection ofresidential and relatively small'commercial buildings. Formerly,monolithic casting techniques were limited to the construction ofwarehouses and other buildings which required little decorative finishto the completed structure, butthe contributions of, the Stout U. S.Pat. No. 3,307,822 permit a more extensiveuse of such techniques'inconstructing foundations for dwellings, and other buildings, whichinclude a simulated brick or stone surface on the completed structure.However, monolithic wall constructions still have been somewhat limitedintheir applications to the residential and small building marketbecause of Federal Housing Administration requirements for hollow wallconstructions in such buildings. The requirement for a hollow wallconstruction is mainly one of providing a vapor barrier or insulatingspace in walls of buildings which are intended for use as habitats, andtherefore, completely solid concrete wall constructions have beenunsuitable and have been limited to use in foundations and otherspecialized applications.

The .present invention is concerned with improvements in monolithic wallconstructions which are suitable for residential buildings, and whichmeet all building code regulations and requirements, and further, theinvention provides for an improved construction form which is useful forcasting monolithic concrete walls.

The improved monolithic wall construction of this invention includes aplurality of spaced mounting pads which are formed integrally with thecast wall, and the mounting pads function to receive sheet material, orother building elements, in an attached, but spaced, relationship to thecompleted wall construction. Thus, there is provided in the finishedwall construction a monolithic wall having finishing sheets or panelsattached to at least one face of the wall so as to provide a dead airspace or insulating space between the-concrete wall and the finishingsheets or panels. It is known in the prior artto utilize concretebuilding blocks to assemble walls having spaces therein, and it is alsoknown to provide such building blocks with projecting ridges, asexemplified in Staman U. S. Pat. No. 2,008,775. However, the presentinvention is con cerned only with the construction of a monolithic wallor building which is cast at the building site from a single pouring ofconcrete. The advantages in the present invention reside in eliminatinga requirement for using separate building blocks, especially separatebuilding blocks that have unusual and costly variations in their shapesand configurations. Also, the present invention eliminates the usualrequirement for costly skilled labor who must lay up masonry blocks orunits, and the finished wall construction of the present invention hasthe advantage of including no cracks,'seams, or joints of the type whichare normally found in constructions using building units which aremortared together.

The invention also provides for a-novel construction form unit which maybe made from an aluminum or magnesium metal or alloy. The constructionform includes a special configuration for producing spaced mounting padson the finished monolithic wall structure, and the form is designed insuch a way that only a single configuration of a form is required toproduce essentially all of the mounting pads which are to be formedintegrally with any given wall construction. As discussed in the Stoutpatent, referred to above, it is intended that the metal forms which areused for casting monolithic structures be of a relatively large size,and a number of such forms are assembled together in an edge-to-edgerelationship so as to define whatever size and shape of monolithicconstruction is desired. Since the initial manufacture of such forms isfairly costly, it is desirable to be able to manufacture a singleconfiguration of form which is useful for producing substantially all ofthe monolithic structure which is being built. Accbrdingly, theprovision of a novel, lightweight metal form, which can be used toproduce a wall surface having integrally formed, spaced pads thereonrepresents a substantial advancement in the art.

The invention also provides for a novel construction form unit wherein apreferred curve is constructed into a web surface of the form so as totransmit forces and stresses to reinforced marginal edges of the form.Also, it has been found that the provision of a curved configuration inthe web surface of a form causes the form to release itself from ahardened concrete wall which has been previously poured against theform. The theory for the release of the form from a hardened wall is notentirely understood, but it is believed that preferred paraboliccurvature of the form web results in a flexing of the form in responseto temperature changes, and this flexing causes the form to releaseitself away from the hardening surface of a wall. Of course, it is veryimportant to be able to release such forms from the extensive surfaceswhich are being produced, and the releasing and stripping of forms fromhardened concrete surfaces has been a major problem in the use of metalforms in this art. The stripping of forms becomes especially difficultwhere unusual surface configurations are being cast onto the wall whichis being constructed, and therefore, it has become increasinglyimportant to be able to remove metal forms from finished constructionwithout damaging the surface features which are intended to be a part ofthe finished construction.

The finished wall construction of this invention provides a plurality ofspaced pads, of special configuration, formed integrally with the entirewall. The pads may additionally include anchoring elements which arecast in place at the same time the pads are being formed, and theanchoring elements function to receive fastening devices for attachingsheet material, or other building elements, to the finished wall. Whensheet material is attached to a plurality of such mounting pads on amonolithic wall surface, a space is provided between the main body ofthe monolithic wall and the sheet material which is being added. Thisspace satisfied F l-lA requirements for an insulation space in hollowwall constructions. The mounting pads which are formed integrally withthe monolithic wall may also include through passages which are formedat the same time the pads are being cast with the wall,

and the through passages provide convenient supports for electricalconduits, or other utility'lines, which are necessarily included withina finished wall construction for a residential type of building.

' These and other features of the present invention will be discussed ingreater detail below, and in the detailed discussion reference will bemade to accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of acompleted monolithic wall which has been cast in accordance with thepresent invention, and a portion of the wall and the building in whichit is to be included are cut away to illustrate detail;

FIG. 2 is a vertical cross-sectional view of a portion of the monolithicwall which includes a projecting pad member having one type of anchoringmeans included therein;

FIG. 3 is a vertical cross-sectional view, similar to that shown in FIG.2, illustrating a second type of anchoring member cast in place in asecond embodiment of a pad;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a preferred construction form which isused to produce the novel wall construction shown in FIG. 1;

' FIG. 5 is a plan view of the form shown in FIG. 4, illustrating areverse side of the form;

FIG. 6 is a top view looking down upon an edge of the form of FIG. 4;

FIG. 7 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the form, as seen on line7-7 of FIG. 5;

' FIG. 8 is a horizontal cross-sectional view of the form, as seen alongthe line 88 of FIG. 5; and

FIG. 9 is a view of a further embodiment of the pad forming meansassociated with the form. 3

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF INVENTION Referring to FIG. 1, a completed wallportion is illustrated as it would appear in atypical residential typeof building, and the wall construction includes a novel monolithic wall10 which is cast from concrete so as to form an inner surface 12 havinga plurality of pad means 14. The inner surface 12 of the wallconstruction is substantially planar with the exception of the pad means14 and curved portions of the wall surface which curve outwardly fromthe wall to form the pad means. The particular curvatures of the wallwill be discussed in greater detail with reference to a novel mouldingform which is used for producing the illustrated monolithic wallconstruction. An outer surface 16 of the wall may be formed to includeany type of surface configuration which is desired, and typically, theouter surface is formed with a brick pattern in accordance with theteachings of Stout U. S. Pat. No. 3,307,822, which is incorporatedherein by reference.

The plurality of projecting pad members 14 function as mounting surfacesto which additional building elements may be added for finishing a wallconstruction suitable for residential use. The mounting members 14project outwardly from the planar surface of the wall 10 for equaldistances, and each pad means includes a flat mounting surface 18 whichis substantially parallel to the planar surface of wall 10.. The padmeans are preferably spaced apart from one another at distances whichprovide for an adequate mounting and fastening of standard wall panels,such as available wallboard and plasterboard products, and a typicalconstruction will provide pad members 14 approximately 2 feet from eachother in vertical and horizontal directions. By forming integral padmembers with the casting of the monolithic wall 10, there is provided animmediate means for finishing the interior of a building or room whichis being constructed by concrete casting techniques. Further, there isno requirement for skilled labor to lay and select specialized blockstructures to provide mounting means on the inner surface of themonolithic wall, and there is no requirement for an addition of woodenstuds to the interior wall surface prior to completion of the wall withthe addition of wallboard or plasterboard. Thus, there is provided asubstantially improved, low-cost structure which permits rapid buildingof residential type constructions with a minimum of skill and labor; andthere is also provided a cast integral structure which fully meets FHArequirements for hollow'walls in buildingswhich are to be used as livingareas. As shown in FIG. 1, and also FIGS. 2 and 3, the building wall iscompleted by the addition of wallboard or panel boards to the innersurface 12 of the concrete wall. The FIG. 1 illustration shows portionsof an optional vapor barrier 20, a wallboard 22, and a prefinishedwooden panel 24, all cut away to show their relative placement over theinner surface of the wall 10. With the finishing elements in place, andfastened to the pad members 14 in a manner which will be describedbelow, the

completed wall provides for a strong, integral concrete struc-' turehaving a required dead space between an outside portion of the wall andan inside portion of the same wall. The provision of a dead air space,or insulating space, is a necessary one for most residentialconstructions. Optionally, the space which is provided between the innersurface 12 of the wall 10 and the sheet elements which are attachedthereto may be filled with an insulation material, and also, it iscontemplated that the illustrated spaces formed around the projectingpad means 14 may function as passageways for carrying heated or cooledair to various portions of the room and to outlet registers which arepositioned in desired locations within a room. The monolithic wall 10may also include reinforcing rods 26 which are put in place prior to thepouring and casting of the wall structure. The vapor barrier 20 may bein the form of a plastic sheet material, or a coated paper which isconstructed to seal out moisture from the interior of a building.Alternatively, a metal coated paper or foil may be used to function as aheat reflector in climates which require such additional protection.

FIGS. 2 and 3 illustrate the pad means 14 in greater detail, and theillustrations of FIGS. 2 and 3 are taken in vertical cross sections fromthe wall construction which is shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 2 illustrates atypical arrangement wherein anchoring means 28 are included within theconstruction of the pad means 14. The anchoring means may be in the formof tapered wooden blocks, as shown, and these blocks may be preplaced inmoulding forms which are used to produce the novel wall structure shown.By including tapered wooden blocks in the pad means, a wooden surface ispresented on a portion of the mounting surface 18 of each pad means.This wooden surface functions to receive fastening members which areused to attach building panels, or other building elements, to theinterior of the concrete wall. Although the building panel may beattached directly to the pad means 14 by the use of nails 30, it ispreferred to first nail a furring strip 32 across adjoining pad means soas to present a surface 34 which can be glued, or otherwise fastened, tothe wallboard or panel board which is being used. FIG. 2 alsoillustrates the positioning of a vapor barrier 20, which may be added tothe inner surface at the same time that the furring strips 32 are beingput in place.

FIG. 3 illustrates an additional method of attaching wallboard, or otherbuilding elements, to the pad means 14 associated with the inner surfaceof a monolithic wall structure. In the FIG. 3 embodiment, a differentform of anchoring means 28 is cast in sin: in the pad means 14, and theanchoring means may be in the form of an open ended spherical unit whichis constructed to receive a plastic or metal snap fastener 36. Theanchoring means may be made of metal, or other suitable material, and itmay include leg members 38 for assuring a tight fit within the cast padmeans 14. With the embodiment shown in FIG. 3, snap fitting fastenerelements 36 can be adhered, in spaced positions, to whatever sheetmaterial or wallboard material 22 is being attached to the interiorsurface. The fastener elements may be attached by adhesive which isapplied to fiat surface portions 40 to effect a tight and secureattachment of fastener elements to the sheet material being used. Itwill be appreciated that the embodiment of FIG. 3 provides for a veryrapid, and low cost, method of finishing the wall structure which isillustrated in FIG. 1 by the use of build- =-ing sheets which have" beenpreviously fitted with fasteners. V 'The' fasteners may be quicklyapplied to the backs of building sheets with jigs designed to accuratelyplace all fasteners for a given sheet at the required spacings. Nospecialized labor is required, and it is merely necessary to quicklyinsert all snap fasteners of each sheet of building material into theprojecting pad means 14 by pressing the sheet and fasteners against aplurality og ads. l vFIGS. 4 through 9 illustrate a preferred and novelconstructiori form which is utilized for prbducing the monolithic wall10' of FIG. 1. The form 42 is preferably made from a lightweight metalmaterial, such as aluminum or magnesium metal or alloys of those metals.Ir is essential that the form be sufficiently light in weightto beeasily handled at a building site where a plurality of such forms areassembled together in edg'e to edge relationships so as to define thewalls of a monolithic structure which is to be cast from essentially asingleipouring of concrete. The assembly of such forms is illustrated inthe Stout U. S. Pat. No. 3,307,822, and in my copending application Ser.No. 426,885, and generally, a sufficient number of the individual forms42 are assembled together to provide whatever dimensions are requiredfor a completed wall or building structure. Typically, a plurality ofthe'iassembled forms are erected in two vertical rows which arefspacedfrom one another so as to define a space .ther'ebetween which receivespoured concrete. The two vertical 'r'ows of assembled panels contain thepoured concrete and define surface configurationsfor inner and outersurfaces of a completed wall structure. Also, it is a practice to erecta sufficient number of rows of such forms to define all four walls, orwhatever numberarebeing cast,' of a building, and then, the entirestructure can be cast fromconcrete which is poured as rapidly as thestructure: can be filled. After the poured concrete has set and hardenedfor a length of time (as little as 24 hours), the metal forming units"42'can be stripped and disassembled from the hardened monolithic wallwhich has been cast. In this manner, an' entire wall or building can becompleted in a very short time and with a minimum of skilled labor andexpense. FIG. 4 illustrates a perspective view of one form unit 42, andthe relationship of the form unit 42 of this invention to another row ofsuch units is shown in dotted lines by the separate unit 44. Therelationship which is shown in FIG. 4 produces the wall structure shownin FIG. 1. Tie bars or straps 46 are secured between spaced rows of theforms so as to maintain the proper spacing of the forms while concreteis being poured and hardened. The tie bars 46 are secured to the forms"by pin means 48 which pass through openings in the tie bars. The tiebars 46 are positioned in recesses 50 which are provided in the frameportions of each form unit, and the recesses 50 accommodate.one-half thethickness of each tie bar ,46. The construction form unit 42 which isillustrated in FIG'I 4, is shown as viewed from a surface of the unitwhich does not contact the concrete wall which is being produced.Thus-pithe FIG. 4 may be considered as illustrating an outside surfaceof a construction form, and it is to be understood that concrete ispoured between a plurality .of assembled forms 42 and ,44 so that anopposite surface of the illustrated form 42 is contacted by concrete.The construction form 42 includes a 'weblportion 52 which makes up themain body of the form. Marginal edges of the form unit are reinforced byoutwardly {projecting flanges 53 which are an integral part of theentire :forriiand which also function to permit an assembly of aplurality of such forms in edge-to-edge relationship in both verticalandhorizontal directions. In a typical installation, the individualforms measure 24 inches by 24 inches and a series of sucli forrns arebolted together through openings 55 in their atop {and bottom edges toform elongate assemblies of the requisite height for the wall beingformed. These assemblies mayzthenbe erected at the building site andconnected to each other through their vertical side edges. The sideedges of adjoining elongate assemblies are pinned and wedged together,somewhat in the manner illustrated in Symons U. S. Pat. No.

2,640,249. Thicker sections 57 of the flanges 53 reinforce the sideedges of the forms and also function as wedgingsurfacesagainst which awedge member 59 may bear when they are driven through slots in bolts 61,for securing adjoining forms together.

FIG. 4 also illustrates a provision are formed into the constructionform unit at opposite-marginal edges so as to provide cavities intowhich concretemay move when it is being poured. The depressions 54,are;.-:99.fl-

structed in a special configuration so as to produce-.the pad means 14discussed with reference to FIGS. 1 through-3 m the preferredarrangement, each of the depressions 54,.of a;-

given construction form unit, defines one-half of a complete pad means14, and the reasonfor this arrangement is to provide for the formationof a strong and integral pad means which will not be broken from thesurface of the wall when the fonns 42 are removed. Also, it is importantthat the forms 42 be constructed so as to be easily stripped or removedfrom set concrete without damaging the poured and cast concrete wall.lthas been the experience of those working in this art that metal formsof certain configurations are practically impossible to remove from acompleted concrete wall, and in fact, there have been instances of wallshaving to be essentially destroyed to separate the separate metal formstherefrom. The importance of being able to easily strip a metal formfrom a hardened concrete wall becomes even more important-wheresubstantial forrnationsare to be included in the surface of the concretewall, and in the wall of this invention, the pad means 14 projectoutwardly for a distance which is approximately equal to the thicknessof the wall itself. For example, a strong and sound wall constructionfor residential use can be cast with a thickness of approximately 4inches for the main body of the wall, and the pad means 14'may extendoutwardly for an additional 3 inches from the inner surface of the wall.Without a special construction for fonns 42, it would be virtuallyimpossible to remove suchmetal forms from a completed wall where such asizable projection of concrete is hardened into depressions includedwithin the forms. It has been found that a preferred placement of thedepressions 54, together with a preferred curvature for adjoiningportions of the form around the depressions, results in asuperior'forming unit which not only produces the desired pad meansshown in FIG. 1, but which also is easily stripped from a hardenedmonolithic wall structure.

Referring also to FIGS. 5 through 8, it can be seen that the depressions54 are ideally placed at opposite marginal edges of the form 42. Thisplacement permits an easy withdrawal of the form away from theprojecting pad means 14 which has been cast into a wall structure, andit can be seen that the two separate depressions 54 for each form 42define two separate halves for two projecting pad means 14. Also, theplacement of the depressions 54 at opposed midpoints along marginaledges of the form 42 permits the formation of a continuous curve 56 intothe moulding surface, and also the outer surface, of the form 42. Thecurve 56 extends between low points of the opposed depressions 54, asviewed from the inside of the mould which is to contact the concretewall, and the curve is substantially continuous and coextensive with themain body of the form so as to provide the curvature shown in thecrosssectional view of FIG. 7. The horizontally extending curvatures ofthe mould 42 at the positions of each of the depressions 54, are shownin FIG. 6, and it can be seen that the depressions 54 are constructed toprovide a very smooth and gradual blending of the main body of the wallwhich is to be produced into the projecting pad means which are formedintegrally with the wall. This configuration assures a strong integralpad means which is not easily separated from or broken away from themain body of the wall when the mould units 42 are stripped away. Also,it has been found that the formation of continuous curves (which arepreferably parabolic in their wall are transmitted along the curvedportions of the wall to for depressions. 54 which the stronger andthicker regions of the wall which define the pad members, therebyincreasing the effective strength of the finished structure.

Each depression 54 is provided with a flat bottom portion 58 whichbecomes the planar surface 18 discussed with reference to the pad meansl4 of FIG. 1. The planar surface 18 is preferably oval shaped so that noangular comers are to be formed during the casting process. As seen inFIG. 5, which represents a view of the fonn when looking toward theconcrete-contacting face thereof, the entire surface is smooth andunbroken, and when a plurality of such forms are assembled together, aclean and uninterrupted inner surface of a wall is formed between all ofthe pad means 14. Since the wall surface which is being formed inaccordance with this invention is intended to be covered by otherbuilding elements, it is not too important whether seam lines can beseen in the cement surface of a completed wall where separate forms 42were joined together. However, the mating flange edges 53 of theseparate forms may be carefully machined to provide a very tight andstraight fit which produces a smooth wall surface which is essentiallyuninterrupted by any surface seam line.

FIGS. 7 and 8 illustrate another important feature of the presentinvention wherein a preferred curve 56 is provided on one surface or theother of a form member, and preferably in one direction only, so as toprovide an unusual flexing of individual form units 42 while a concretewall is setting and hardening against their surfaces. It has been foundthat the provision of a curve 56 along one axis of a form results in aflexing of the form from temperature changes, and the flexing actioncauses the form to break away from concrete as the concrete hardens andbegins to cure. Although the reason for the flexing action, and theunassisted release of the form from a concrete wall, is not entirelyunderstood, it is believed that temperature changes from day to night,and perhaps heat from hydration of the setting cement, causes the entireform to bend about the curvature as it is expanded and contractedrelative to a differing expansion and contraction rate for the curingand setting concrete. FIG. 7 illustrates the curve 56 as extending alonga vertical central axis of a form, and where the form includesdepressions 54, it is preferred that the curve of the form extendbetween the midpoints of the depressions 54. FIG. 8 illustrates ahorizontal cross-sectional view of the same form, and it can be seenthat there is no provision for a curved web portion in that direction ofthe form. Although the curved fonn is illustrated as being provided withthe depressions 54, it is to be understood that such a curved webformation may be provided in any form which is used in this art toconstruct monolithic wall structures out of concrete.

Although a number of curvatures appear to provide the desired results,it has been further discovered that a parabolic curve offers thegreatest advantages because such a curve also functions to transmit loadstresses from the curing concrete wall to the stronger and reinforcedmarginal edges of the individual form units 42. In the configurationshown for FIG. 7, load stresses are transmitted from the middle portionof the depression part of the fonn. The sidewall openings are arrangedto receive a tapered metal pin member (see optional pin 63 in FIG. 1)during the pouring of concrete, and after the concrete has hardened, thepin may be removed. This arrangement permits transverse passageways tobe fonned in the pad means 14 while the entire monolithic wall structureis being poured. The provision of transverse passageways in the padmeans 14 permits utility lines and other structures to be installedwithin the confines of a completed wall, and there is no requirement foradding additional mounting brackets or devices to the inner wall surfacebefore making such installations.

Having described the structural features of the novel forming unit ofthis invention, and having discussed novel wall products producedthereby, it can be seen that there is provided an efficient andeconomical system for erecting buildings which comply with goodstructural requirements and which offer advantages in strength andintegrity not found in other types of masonry constructions. Referringagain to FIG. 1, a building can be quickly and efficiently erected inits final form by first pouring a slab or footing 70 at the place laidout for erecting the building. The footing may be formed with a shelf72, as shown, and vertical steel rods may be inserted around theperimeter of the footing for reinforcing the walls which are to be castaround the base. Then, forming units may be assembled and laid outaround the perimeter of the building, and the assembled panels may beerected to define two rows of panels for each wall which is to bepoured. As is apparent in the FIG. 1 view, the half pads which areformed by individual form units conveniently join the floor to form astrong bond therewith and to provide anchoring points at the extremeupper and lower edges of the completed wall. If all four'walls are to bepoured at the same time, a double row of panels will extend all the wayaround the footing to define a pouring space for the monolithicstructure. The panels are secured to each other by pins and wedges, aspreviously discussed, and once everything is in place, a suitableconcrete mix can be poured. After the structure has hardened for areasonable length of time, as little as 24 hours, the moulding units canbe stripped away from the monolithic wall structure.

web of the form along the curve 56 and to the high points 60 of thedepressions 54. From there, the forces are carried around the marginaledges of the form 42, and the provision of flanges 53 about the edgesprovides for additional reinforcement and strengthening of the entireform unit. With the forms of this invention, it is possible to safelypour and harden walls which are 24 feet high, or higher, and any knownconcrete mixture may be used in the pouring operation. It is notnecessary, as with some prior art attempts, to use special lightweightconcrete mixtures in the casting of an entire building or a wall of abuilding.

FIG. 9 illustrates a modified form 42 which includes a slightlydifferent configuration for the depression portion 54, as viewed invertical cross section similar to that shown in FIG. 7. The depression54 is constructed to provide for the insertion of a metal pin memberthrough sidewall openings 62 which may be formed in opposite sidewallportions of the After the moulding units are removed, the ends of thetie bars 46 can be broken off or pulled out to f nish off the outersurfaces of the concrete wall and small amounts of grouting can beapplied, as necessary. Then, the interior finishing panels can beattached to the pad means, and roofing and other finishing structurescan be added.

Although the invention has been discussed with reference'to providingpad means on an interior wallsurface, it is contemplated that similarpad means may be provided on an outside surface where it is desired toattach a decorative panel or special building element to the outsidesurface. Also, the pad means on inside surfaces may be used to carrydecorative structures otherthan the described wall boards, and screensand partitions may be attached to the pad means inthe same manner asdescribed for wallboard sheets. It is further contemplated that specialpad members may be formed at requisite intervals along an inner wallstructure for supporting electrical junction boxes and similar fixtures.For example, pads may be formed with a lesser projection distance thanregular pad formations to accommodate the thickness of a junction boxwhich is to be attached to the specially formed pad within the wall. Afurther variation in this invention is shown in FIG. 1 with respect tothe tie bar elements 46. The tie bars 46 may be slanted downwardlytoward the outside of the wall to be formed (as shown in dotted lines)so that when the tie bars are removed or broken off there will be lesspossibility of water or moisture seeping back through the finished wallat the location of the tie bars.

Variations and equivalent structures of the above disclosure will becomeobvious to those skilled in this art, and obvious departures from theteaching of this specification are intended to be included in the scopeof the claims which follow.

lclaim:

1. In a wall construction form made out of aluminum or other lightweightmaterial which can be easily handled to produce monolithic wallstructures from a pourable and settable material, said construction formhaving a web portion for defining a surface portion of the monolithicwall, with projecting edge portions around said web portion forpermitting a temporary assembly of a plurality of such forms with oneanother to produce a wall or building structure, the improvement in saidconstruction form comprising: at least one depression fonned in asurface of the form which contacts a wall being produced, saiddepression having a substantially flat bottom so that the depressionfunctions to define at least a portion of a discrete pad means whichwill project outwardly from the completed wall to provide a mounting andsupporting means for attaching additional building or decorativeelements in spaced relationships to the completed wall, said at leastone depression further having curved surfaces extending from its bottomto adjoining surface areas of the form so that a moundlike pad shape isformed in the wall being produced, and including additional curvedsurfaces on an opposite surface of said form, said opposite surfacebeing out of contact with a wall being formed and said curved surfacesspreading away from each of said depressions to reinforce said form andto assist in the release of the form from a monolithic wall.

2. In a wall construction fon'n made out of aluminum or otherlightweight material which can be easily handled to produce monolithicwall structures from a pourable and settabie material, said constructionform having a web portion for defining a surface portion of themonolithic wall, with projecting edge portions around said web portionfor permitting a temporary assembly of a plurality of such forms withone another to produce a wall or building structure, the improvement insaid construction form comprising: at least one depression fonned in asurface of the form which contacts a wall being produced, saiddepression functioning to define at least a portion of a pad means whichwill project outwardly from the completed wall to provide a mounting andsupporting means for attaching additional building or decorativeelements in spaced relationships to the completed wall, said depressionbeing positioned at a marginal edge of said form so as to defineone-half of a pad means to be formed integrally with said monolithicwall, with an adjoining half of a pad means being formed insert assemblyof such forms, whereby the forms may be easily stripped from thecompleted wall structure without damaging the integral pad means whichare formed therewith.

3. The improvement of claim 2 wherein said depression is defined bysmoothly curved surfaces extending from a substantially planar surfaceof said web to a substantially planar surface which is parallel to theweb and which defines the mounting and attaching surface of a completedpad means.

4. The improvement of claim 2 wherein two depressions are provided in .asingle construction form, with each of said depressions defining a halfof a pad means, and with said depressions positioned on said form toalign with identical depressions formed in identical forms when saidforms are assembled in an edge-to-edge relationship, whereby only asingle configuration of form is necessary to produce extensivemonolithic structures having a plurality of projecting pads formedintegrally therewith.

5. The improvement of claim 4 wherein each depression is defined bysmoothly curved surfaces extending from a substantially planar surfaceof said web to a substantially planar surface which is parallel to theweb and which defines the mounting and attaching surface of a completedpad means.

6. The improvement of claim 2 and including an opening through aprojecting sidewall portion of said depression for receiving a pinmember which can be inserted transversely across the depression so as toform a transvers passageway through the pad means which is to be fonned.

7. The improvement of claim 2 and including means for positioning ananchoring means at the base of said depression so as to include saidanchoring means as an integral part of the com leted monolithicstructure which is being formed.

. e improvement of claim 2 and including a curved outer web surface forsaid form, the curvature of said outer web surface being coextensivewith an outer surface of said depression which is formed in the oppositeface of the form, said curved outer web surface functioning to transmitforces to marginal edge portions of said form and to thereby increasethe strength of said form.

9. The improvement of claim 8 wherein said outer web surface is curvedin a single direction only and wherein the curvature of the surface isparabolic.

10. The improvement of claim 4 and including a curved outer web surfacefor said form, said curved surface extending between the positions ofsaid two depressions which are formed into an opposite face of said formand being coextensive with outer surface portions of the depressions soas to transmit forces to said depressions and to marginal edges of theform, thereby increasing the strength of the form.

11. The improvement of claim iowherein sai d o ute r web surface iscurved only in a single direction and wherein the curvature of thesurface is parabolic.

12. The improvement of claim 1 wherein said cu rved additional surfacesare curved to include a major curvature in a single direction only withthe major curvature being parabolic.

